An Australian travelled the streets of London and asked people what they thought Australians were really like. It was amazing how many English people had visited the big dusty land. They all, of course, told bad stories about their trips. This is the thing you do when you get back home apparently.

There is this mistaken belief that all ex-pat Australians live in Earl's Court. They used to, but not anymore. They think we all work in bars - even in Australia. The interviewees kept looking around for a backpack, which I didn't have.

English people are obsessed about the Australian accent saying it is funny, even though it is more London than London. After all that is where most of the convicts came from. Furthermore, the English have some of the strangest accents in the world.

They think that Kylie Minogue is the sole representative of Australia. All their beliefs are based on her. This is despite the fact that Kylie has become a quasi Brit. She is certainly more popular in England than she ever was in Australia. We don't move our lips when we speak. This, they believe, is to keep the flies out.

Another thing: New Zealand is the sheep country not Australia. We just have millions of kangaroos here; oh, and rabbits that were cleverly introduced by the Brits. We do have a lot of cattle as well. This is also where the world's minerals come from. Australia is a giant mineral "bucket". England doesn't have much of this.

Australians are racist. That is a given. Even though the English hatred for anything French is well known. It is actually the English who are the most racist. They must be - they are superior to everyone else!

The whole world changes all the time. Cultures alter at different speeds depending where you are on this planet. Faster communication is creating a "one world community' as many would say. However, cultures do differ between nations and ethnic groups.

Australia has gone through dramatic change, from being an outpost of the British Empire to independence and self governance. Once Australians saw themselves as British first and Australians second. Going back "home" for a holiday to see mother England was a dream for many. Even after Britain joined the European Community Australians flooded into London.

Today, Australians are "thin on the ground" in England. Work restrictions are killing off the attraction. You can only work if you are European. Working visas issued to Australians has halved since 2006. Only 10,000 Australian citizens actually reside in the UK. Businesses promoting Aussie travel to Britain have closed their doors and Internet sites. "Pub crawls" of the Australian parts of London such as Shepherd's Bush no longer operate. British pubs are also suffering because they cannot get Australian bar tenders who speak English well. Europeans just do not "cut the mustard".

Who is to blame. The British government is at fault putting visa restrictions on the valuable Aussie labour supply. Culturally, the British are closer to Australians than Europeans. Migration is going the other way now. More British and Irish are coming to live permanently in Australia. There are more employment opportunities in this advanced country, which oddly has more in common economically with primary producing developing nations. Digging out coal for the world pays well.

If you want healthy lungs don't take up running or vigorous exercise. Perhaps it is better to head for the country and stay away from smokers. Your body needs clean air in order to stay healthy.

Living in cities is a no, no. If you live in London you will already have lung damage. Spending just 48 minutes there is equivalent to smoking a cigarette. It is not only cigarette smoke that is troublesome. Fumes from cars and diesel buses is something you can't avoid.

Heading indoors is a waste of time. Pollution condenses down into corridors, tunnels and homes. Toxins are more than double that of the external environment. Plants help to clear the air. Don't use artificial air fresheners. Even the television pumps out volatile organic compounds (VOC).

Unfortunately there is not a lot we can do in the modern world to avoid toxins. It's everywhere. Doing exercise will make the body take in more pollutants. Taking a holiday in the country is no answer - ozone from cities ends up there.